


Cinnamon Latte

by LightBlueFlower



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-27
Updated: 2017-12-27
Packaged: 2019-02-22 11:41:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,471
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13166196
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LightBlueFlower/pseuds/LightBlueFlower
Summary: Day 3:Cinnamon// Fruk Holiday Week 2017Alice didn't necessarily like the cinnamon latte she always ordered, but she did like the barista who made it.





	Cinnamon Latte

**Alice - Nyo! England  
** Marianne - Nyo! France  
Esmeralda - Nyo! Portugal  
Madeline - Nyo! Canada 

* * *

The fact that she forced herself through the shitty weather just to get to the university campus annoyed Alice greatly. Not because her equally shitty boots allowed the slush on the sidewalk to slowly seep through to her socks, but mostly because of the reason for her excursion. **  
**

No it wasn’t so she could attend her lectures.

…Actually, yes, that was the main reason that she came to the campus and, yes, it did annoy her greatly how much effort she puts into attending every class no matter how bad the weather was.

But there was another reason why Alice forced herself to take the packed and, frankly, disgusting public bus (as it always is in the winter) all the way down to the campus a few hours earlier than her scheduled lectures.

She wanted to have her daily cup of cinnamon latte from the student run café.

What? Alice, who always swears that the supreme caffeinated drink is Earl Grey tea and thinks coffee is just “concentrated dirt bean water”, mostly looks forward to going to her campus just for a latte of all things?

She could hardly believe it either.

Alice was always an at-home, casual tea drinker. Every morning, she would wake up and open the cabinet of her small kitchen and basks in the aroma of all of her tea collection in tidy rows. She would take her time making the perfect cup of tea, basking and taking full advantage of the silence the apartment has to offer early in the morning. She would read a book on the coffee table near the apartment balcony, quietly sipping her tea, until it was time for her to go to her lectures- which, fortunately coincides with when her noisy and annoying roommate, Amelia, and her quiet twin, Madeline, wakes up.

Lattes and coffees were never for her- she found a lot of them to be bitter, and not as pleasant to drink. There was a sort of class that came with drinking tea- coffee is really for people like Amelia, who uses it as fuel to get through the day rather than a pleasantry.

Why, then, does Alice look forward to getting her cinnamon latte? And why from the student café specifically?

Well- it started when Esmeralda insisted that they should change their study setting after hours crammed in the library, preparing for one of their English exams.

 _“We should check out the campus café! I’m craving a galão!”_ Esmeralda had drawled, her head laying on top of her many papers sprawled around.

Their campus, though apart of a bigger university, was located in a rather isolated part of the suburbs, with sparse places for students to actually hang out. This café was founded by students as a way for people to socialize besides the dorm space and the library.

Alice contemplated about this for a few seconds before agreeing. Although it was not the most ideal place to type out her essay - with all the loud talking, clanking of porcelain cups on the table, and the coffee machine whirring- Alice wanted to escape the silence that was driving her towards madness.

So she agreed, and the two went traversed through the shoveled sidewalk to the cafe, finding solace immediately after entering the small little building that was tucked away. Originally the building was a small house, but with a few minor renovations, the students were able to give it an open space area with a typical coffee shop feel.

_Surprisingly when they arrived, there were only a few students, most of them taking up the tables found near the entrance, close to the bar where a lone barista was preparing something._

_“What would you like?” Esmeralda had asked, glancing up at the menu that hung on the wall behind the counter. “I’m getting a latte. I’ll pay, don’t worry.”_

_“I don’t want you to pay,” Alice had scoffed at her friend’s words. She was mindlessly wandering over the pastries and sweets in the display beside the counter. “And I don’t want anything either. Unless there’s tea.”_  
  


_“Don’t be like that - you can’t always drink tea,” Esmeralda rolled her eyes. “I’ll get you a Cinnamon Latte. It’s today’s special.”_

_When they mean special, they mean that they were giving a discounted price for the beverage. A lot of people must not like the latte. Alice just wanted Esmeralda to get what she wanted so they could sit down, and impatiently waited until she stood in front of the counter._

_“Hello, how can I help you?”_

_Alice immediately looked up when she heard that silky voice, with that soft French accent. Although it was a bilingual campus and Alice had grown accustomed to hearing the gibberish that was French on her bus ride to the school, along with the myriad of French accents, there was something about this person’s voice that sounded so sweet- and a bit seductive._

_The voice suited the person who used it, and Alice was a bit in awe. It was the barista, who Alice hadn’t paid much attention to when she walked in until she…did pay direct attention, due to her being right in front of her._

_The barista was a young woman, around Alice’s age, and slightly taller than her. Her face was small and oval, with big, catlike blue eyes, a pouty mouth, and a bit of a sharp nose. She wore a bit of makeup, with a noticeable blush on her peach cheeks and her winged eyeliner was definitely on point. The woman’s long, thick brown hair was tied back in a ponytail that swung cutely around - a stark contrast to Alice’s ‘haven’t washed in a week’ blonde hair that were held up in sad pigtails. The woman released confidence, from the way the tight red shirt she was wearing fit her to show her curves to the way her back was perfectly straight. A bit opposite to Alice, who has started to drag herself around, slouching a bit like how Madeline does, due to the weight of exams and her books, and opting for baggy clothes as of late._

_As Esmeralda started to order, Alice glanced down to the woman’s name tag that was pinned on her shirt- Marianne. A pretty name for a pretty person; the world is unfair._

_Alice really wanted to not like this random stranger, mostly due to Alice’s envy to look like the pretty women she often saw on campus. But her gay heart couldn’t handle being jealous, and she instead just glanced away here and there._

_“One cafe au lait, and one cinnamon latte, please!”_

_To this, Marianne raised her perfectly plucked eyebrow. “Wow, I thought I was the only one who liked that drink! People always says it hurts to drink and it’s not enjoyable!”_

_And with that line, something in Alice sort of turned. And all of a sudden, she blurted out, “Those people don’t have good taste then. It’s one of the best drinks on the menu.”_

_Unbeknownst to Marianne, Alice would turn out to be one of those people. Then again, coffee will always be a no-go for her._

_But Marianne smiled, and nodded. Alice felt her heart flutter a bit. “I agree. It’s not too sweet but it’s not too bitter. It is the perfect drink when it cold outside! Now…can I have your names?”_

_“Alice,” she quickly responded. Then said, “And Esmeralda.”_

_“Alice,” Marianne repeated, a small smirk on her lips. “Pretty name.”_

_After ringing them up, Marianne scurried to prepare their drink. They stood by the counter waiting, Alice zoned her out and watched Marianne, and the only thing that came to mind was, ‘God, she is so fucking pretty’._

_“You’re so gay,” Esmeralda whispered, elbowing Alice._

_“Shut up.”_

_“Ask for her number. She’s pretty.”_

_“I’m not interested.” Alice grumbled, looking away. “Not like I’m going to see her again.”_

But she did, eventually, see Marianne again. Not in the campus and definitely not in any lectures. She saw her every other day before going to class by visiting the cafe- Alice found out that Marianne was always working from morning till afternoon simply by visiting a handful of times a week.

They didn’t really talk at first- thought, after two weeks Marianne soon came to recognise Alice right away due to probably being the only one to order the latte, and would always ring her up the moment she saw her.  _“The usual, chère?”_ Marianne would ask, and Alice would have a goofy grin and say, “ _Of course._ ” She liked the way Marianne called her chère- even though Marianne used it loosely towards girls, she said it in such a way that made Alice feel good. They started to chat a bit due to Marianne recognizing her, and she would ask Alice some questions if there were no huge line up at the counter; all common questions you would ask a student. Alice found out that Marianne was in the same year as her, but a few years older. She was taking a degree in Business- thus, unfortunately, they would unlikely share courses in the coming semester.

Most of the time Alice doesn’t even finish the drink that she orders- she couldn’t bear the taste (but later she found she started to like very slightly), and craved for tea, but all because Marianne liked this godforsaken latte Alice forced herself to drink it, wanting to leave a good impression on this mysterious French girl.

Okay. Maybe Alice was  _a bit_  interested in Marianne. But she is so awkward- how was she going to ask for her number, never mind asking her out? How Alice wished she was like Amelia- when Amelia wanted someone, she’ll slice straight through about it, without cutting corners.

It’s already been a few weeks since Alice visited the cafe- a new semester has started, and due to the influx snow, less students were against traveling anywhere outside of where they needed to be. That day, specifically, Alice’s bus was emptier than usual.

Alice had been trying to figure out a way to work up the nerve to ask Marianne for her number- a suggestion from Amelia. But she first wanted to find out whether Marianne was into girls in the first place.

 _Wait a bit longer before asking anything_ , Alice thought as she walked up to  _C’est La Vie_ , huddling into her scarf as the cold wind blew into her face, making her hood fall back and her hair fly wildly. Ah, what Alice does for a silly crush.

“Hey, Alice!” Marianne said towards Alice as she walked up, quickly hiding the phone that she held in her hand. Alice was expecting Marianne to say something along the lines of ‘how are you? Same as always?’. But instead Marianne said with a bit of a sly smile. “Why didn’t you tell me you were roommates with my cousins?”

Alice blinked, taken aback. “Pardon?”

“Madeline and Amelia!” Marianne said, her smile widening. “They’re my cousins!”

“Really?” Alice replied with a slight eyebrow raised. They looked barely similar- how could Alice have known? Then Alice felt a slight worry building up in her stomach, and she could feel her face heat up from embarrassment.

 _Oh no._  They were cousins?! But, wait…Amelia and Madeline both know about her slight crush on Marianne. Amelia had found out through Esmeralda who had once mocked Alice for wanting to go to _C’est La Vie_  one day to buy a latte early one morning before their exam (hearing the word ‘Alice’ and ‘latte’ in the same sentence made Amelia incredibly curious), and immediately blabbed to Madeline about Alice’s crush on a barista working in the cafe. Alice made sure to never drop any names- knowing Amelia she would’ve done something about it- but mentioned she only works in mornings and she’s in Business.

If they know Marianne works there, they must have asked her about her coworkers; and since Marianne is usually the only one there early in the morning other than the manager, through simple deduction, Amelia and Madeline would know that her crush was Marianne, thus Marianne would know that Alice had a thing for Marianne and…

 _I fucked up,_  Alice thought, biting her bottom lip.  _She probably thinks I’m gross…_

“The usual?” Marianne then asked, her voice still soft and pleasant, as if unfazed.

“Yeah,” Alice mumbled unsurely, still under the assumption that if her roommates talked to Marianne, they must have at least exposed the fact that she absolutely despised the latte.

“Don’t worry- I’ll be quick. I know you have a class soon,” Marianne smiled as she quickly scurried around, making her drink.

Alice stood by idly, not wanting to make any conversation, still fearing rejection, but it never came. Instead, Marianne came, and gave her a cup- with a little string on the side. It was a tea bag- Orange Pekoe. One of her few favourites in the morning.

“I know you don’t like the latte- Amelia told me. To impress me. Though, for you Alice, you don’t need to try so hard,” Marianne said in a lower voice, though they were the only ones standing near the counter. Alice glanced up to Marianne, who had a certain look on her face with a smug smile. Marianne then leaned forward- close enough for Alice to smell her perfume, a flowery scent, and almost as if she were going to kiss her. “Maybe after your class, you can come back here and we can go out? To get to know each other better?”

Alice felt a neatly folded piece of paper in her hand, and Marianne winked, making Alice cheeks heat up. Did she just ask me out?  Marianne then laughed, “I’ll even give you a free latte if you come.”

“Sounds good,” Alice managed to fumble out the words, not believing what just happened.

“Perfect!” Just then a customer came up to the counter, and Marianne glanced away. “I’ll see you later then!”

“Yeah,” Alice said stupidly, a grin growing on her face as she started to walk away. “Yeah…” Alice opened the door, and glanced over to Marianne, who was now cashing out the customer. Marianne was looking at her with a weird expression, and when Alice looked back, Marianne quickly looked away, though a small smile playing on her face.

Alice walked outside, glancing at the piece of paper in her hand, that simply read:

> _514-xxx-xxxx_
> 
> _Marianne xoxo_

There was a lip print on the side of the paper, the same colour as the lipstick Marianne always wore. Alice took a sip of her tea- it was exactly as she’d take it.

 _Though, I think I would’ve like a cinnamon latte_ , she thought, as she walked away.


End file.
